RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FRENCH CONCRETE PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT

In France, there have been significant developments in structural design of pavements since 1975. Conventional structures with undoweled slabs over a lean concrete subbase have demonstrated good performance. The structure consisting of thick slabs placed over an untreated porous subbase does not entail any application problems; its performance has been the subject of many studies. The gritting of fresh concrete combined with partial surface bearing on projects in 1984 may be regarded as an operational technique. Concrete compacting is being carried out effectively. Completed pavements are checked regularly to evaluate their performance. This paper serves to review the techniques and structures used since the early 1980s, and outlines the latest technical and technological developments in the field.